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What is Mentoring?
Real improvement. Real return on investment.
Mentoring is a powerful, dynamic process for both individuals and organizations.
A mentor supports the individual professionally and personally by providing:
- Sponsorship to open doors that would otherwise be closed
- Coaching by teaching and providing timely feedback
- Protection through supportive learning
- Challenge by encouraging new ways of thinking and acting, and providing opportunities for the individual to stretch beyond their comfort zone
- Exposure and visibility by recommending and providing high level and top management opportunities
- Role modeling by demonstrating behaviors, attitudes and values that lead to success in an organization
- Counseling by helping with difficult situations and challenges
- Acceptance and confirmation by showing respect, understanding and empathy
- Friendship by demonstrating caring that goes beyond a professional capacity.
Source: Adapted from Kathy E. Kram, Mentoring At Work: Developmental Relationships in Organizational Life (New York University Press of America, 1988).
Protégés in corporate mentorship programs advance as much as ten times faster than the average promotion rate...
--Mentoring and Being Mentored on the Technology Track, Carla King
Benefits to the protégé:
- Identifing and setting goals that are in line with your own mission and values.
- Reaching your goals faster by experiencing different perspectives and innovative approaches.
- Making more informed decisions with the support and guidance from someone with experience.
- Having a sounding board for ideas, challenges and opportunities.
- Improving and providing opportunities to strengthen professional and personal relationships.
- Gaining confidence, clarity and understanding in professional and personal endeavors.
Benefits to the Organization:
Mentoring supports organizations by providing a tool for:
- Succession Planning
- Developing leadership talent
- Recruiting and retaining high performers
- Upgrading employee skills and knowledge
Why Mentoring?
Can a mentor really help me? Consider these things:
- You choose the mentor to assist, support and guide you in your development.
- You determine the day, time and location of your mentoring sessions.
- You choose the skill, competency, or professional development area that you'd like to focus on, when you need it.
- You will have personal and immediate access to someone with years of experience who can teach you the tricks-of-the-trade and provide personal and professional contacts to extend your network.
- You will have the opportunity to practice and implement new skills and behaviors, while receiving support and reinforcement along the way.
- The friendship you build with your mentor, and the skills, knowledge and experience you gain could last a lifetime.
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